Houston instructor accused of faking weapons class certifications

Instructor accused of faking weapons class certifications

Published 6:30 am, Monday, January 24, 2011

Authorities are seeking a Houston firearms instructor accused of faking results to allow more than 40 people to pass a concealed handgun licensing course without being tested.

Onedia Broussard, 39, is wanted on charges of tampering with a government record, accused of certifying results for tests during a September seminar that were never taken. The state jail felony carries a maximum punishment of two years behind bars.

Reached by phone Monday, Broussard denied the allegations, and declined to answer any other questions about the charges.

According to court records, Broussard was paid to teach 47 people who contacted her through an Internet advertisement. After a day of instruction, Broussard signed forms certifying they passed the written exam without taking it.

The group then went to the gun range to be certified for handgun proficiency.

When Broussard found out that fees at the range had gone up, she dismissed the students without a test and certified they had passed.

Three women stayed behind and took the handgun proficiency portion of the test.

One of the students who was dismissed alerted the Department of Public Safety, the agency that licenses instructors. DPS officials said 21 students gave statements and only three said they completed the proficiency part of the test, according to court records.

Broussard was a math teacher at Ortiz Middle School in the Houston Independent School District last school year, earning $46,017, according to HISD records. She was hired by the district in March 2007. Records do not show her listed as an HISD employee this school year, but she still is certified to teach in Texas.

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